Blackpool F.C.

File:Blackpool fc logo.png
Full name	Blackpool Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Seasiders, The 'Pool, The Tangerines
Founded	26 July 1887
Ground	Bloomfield Road Blackpool, England
Capacity	12,555
Owners	Owen Oyston Valeri Belokon
Chairman	Karl Oyston
Manager	Ian Holloway
League	Premier League
2009–10	The Championship, 6th (promoted via play-offs)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Blackpool Football Club (Template:Pron-en) are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing the 2010–11 season in the Premier League, the top tier of professional football in England, having won the Football League Championship play-off Final at the end of the 2009–10 campaign, their 100th consecutive season in the Football League. It is their debut in the Premier League, and it is their first appearance in England's top flight since 1971. It completes a climb of four divisions in nine years. They hold the record for being the first club in English football to be promoted through all four divisions via the play-offs.

The club's home ground has been Bloomfield Road since 1901, and their main nicknames are the Seasiders, the 'Pool and the Tangerines, the latter in reference to the colour of their home kit. Their motto is Progress, as featured on the club crest. They have a fierce local rivalry with Preston North End, with whom they contest the West Lancashire derby.

Blackpool's most notable achievement is winning the 1953 FA Cup Final, the so-called "Matthews Final", in which they beat Bolton Wanderers 4–3, overturning a 1–3 deficit in the closing stages of the game. During that post-war period, Blackpool made three Wembley appearances in six years and came close to winning the League Championship on several occasions. They also supplied the national teams with many players, notably for England in 1953 when four Blackpool men lined up at Wembley, causing the Daily Mirror to declare that "Blackpool F.C. are playing Hungary today", though it became a day that English football fans would rather forget. Their least successful period came in the 1980s, and in 1982–83 they finished 21st in English League football's lowest tier, their lowest-ever League finish.

The club has been managed since May 2009 by Ian Holloway, who guided them to the Premier League in his first season in charge. As of the end of the 2009–10 season, Holloway's win-percentage in League matches as Blackpool manager is 41.3%, which places him sixth out of the club's twenty-five full-time managers.

History

For Blackpool's season-by-season stats, see Blackpool F.C. seasons.

A graph displaying Blackpool's finishing positions in the Football League.

Formation and early years

Blackpool Football Club were formed on 26 July 1887, after a merger with a breakaway group from the local St. John's Football Club. The club managed to win two pieces of silverware in its first season in existence, 1887–88: the Fylde Cup and the Lancashire Junior Cup.

At the conclusion of the following 1888–89 season, Blackpool became founder members of the Lancashire League. In their first season in the competition, the club finished fifth out of the thirteen member clubs. They finished as runners-up over the following three seasons (to Bury twice and Liverpool once), before winning the championship themselves on their fourth attempt.

Blackpool's home at that point in time was Raikes Hall Gardens (also known as the Royal Palace Gardens), which was part of a large entertainment complex that included a theatre and a boating lake, amongst other attractions. This meant that the club's average attendances were around the two-thousand mark, making the club's formative years a financial success.

After struggling to repeat the success of the 1893–94 season, the Blackpool board decided it was time to leave local football behind, so on 13 May 1896 the club became a limited company and applied for entry to the Football League.

Their application was successful, and for the club's debut season, 1896–97, they joined the sixteen-team Second Division. Blackpool's first-ever Football League game took place on 5 September 1896, at Lincoln City, which they lost 3–1 in front of around 1,500 spectators.

For the 1897–98 campaign, the club played their home games at the Athletic Grounds (at the present-day Stanley Park). They remained there for the first seven home games of 1898–99, before returning to Raikes Hall for the remaining ten.

Blackpool, after finishing third-bottom, were not re-elected at the conclusion of the 1898–99 season, and spent the 1899-1900 term back in the Lancashire League. They finished third, and after the Football League's annual meeting, on 25 May 1900, were permitted back into Division Two. It was during this season out of the League that Blackpool amalgamated with local rivals South Shore.

Early 20th century

After spending a final season, their first back in the League, at Raikes Hall, the club moved to a new ground at Gamble's Field, on Bloomfield Road at the southern end of the town. The ground was subsequently renamed for the road on which it stood.

During the ten seasons that followed, Blackpool could finish no higher than twelfth place. The club's top goalscorers in the League included Bob Birkett (ten goals in 1900–01), Geordie Anderson (twelve goals in 1901–02) and Bob Whittingham (thirteen in 1908–09).

At the end of 1910–11, the club found themselves in seventh place, thanks largely to Joe Clennell's haul of eighteen goals.

It was a case of as-you-were, however, for the four seasons leading up to World War I, with finishing positions of fourteenth, twentieth, sixteenth and tenth. For the latter of those seasons, Joe Lane netted 28 goals.

The outbreak of war forced the cancellation of League football for four years, during which time regional competitions were introduced. When normalcy resumed, in 1919–20, Blackpool had appointed their first full-time manager in the form of Bill Norman. Norman guided the club to fourth-placed finishes in his first two League seasons in charge (he was installed as manager during the final inter-war season), with Lane again netting close to thirty goals in the former.

The club's form nosedived in the 1921–22 season, with a finishing position of nineteenth, before bouncing back to a fifth-placed finish in the following campaign. Harry Bedford, who had joined the club from Nottingham Forest, was the country's top League scorer, with 32 goals to his name.

Bedford repeated the feat the following season, this time under the watchful eye of new manager Frank Buckley, who replaced Bill Norman after his four years of service. Blackpool finished fourth in Buckley's first season in charge.

The 1924–25 season was not as successful; a seventeenth-placed finish tempered only slightly by the club's reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time. A single-goal defeat at fellow Lancastrians Blackburn Rovers ended the Seasiders' run.

Buckley guided Blackpool to top-ten finishes in his final two seasons as manager — with Billy Tremelling's thirty goals in the latter helping considerably — before he left to take the helm at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Buckley's replacement was Sydney Beaumont, who took charge for the 1927–28 season, but he lasted only until the spring after the club finished in nineteenth position.

Harry Evans was installed as the new Blackpool manager, in an honorary capacity, for the 1928–29 campaign. Due in no small part to Jimmy Hampson's 40 goals, the club finished eighth. In his second season, Evans guided Blackpool to the Division Two championship (their only championship to date), finishing three points ahead of Chelsea. Hampson had bagged 45 of the club's 98 League goals.

Blackpool lasted only three seasons in the First Division. Two third-bottom finishes were followed by a last-placed finish, and the club returned to the Second Division.

The club's relegation prompted the Blackpool board to install a recognised manager, and they opted for Sandy MacFarlane. MacFarlane occupied the Bloomfield Road hot seat for just two seasons, in which the club finished eleventh and fourth. MacFarlane's final season, 1934–35, marked Jimmy Hampson's eighth successive (and final) season as Blackpool's top League goalscorer.

Joe Smith was appointed Blackpool's sixth manager in August 1935, a role in which he remained for the next 23 years.

The club finished tenth in Smith's first season, with Bobby Finan taking over from Hampson as top scorer, with 34 goals. It was Smith's second season in charge, however, that marked the starting point of the success to come. Blackpool finished the 1936–37 season as runners-up in the Second Division to Leicester City and were promoted back to the First Division.

Two seasons of Division One football were played before a second World War intervened. Blackpool sat atop the table at the time the abandonment occurred. Regional competitions were implemented again between 1939 and 1945. For the 1945–46 season, after the war's conclusion, Blackpool spent one season in the Football League North.

Post-World War II

Scottish defender Hugh Kelly had arrived at Blackpool in 1943, as had fellow defender Tommy Garrett in 1942. Forward Stan Mortensen joined the club after the war in 1946. Mortensen went on to become Blackpool's top League goalscorer for the next nine seasons, sharing the honour with Allan Brown in 1952–53. Stanley Matthews, who became a regular source of goals for Mortensen, joined Blackpool in 1947, as did centre-forward Jackie Mudie. Goalkeeper George Farm signed in 1948 as did outside-left Bill Perry in 1949. Kelly, Garrett, Matthews, Mudie, Farm and Perry would play with the club throughout the 1950s, the most successful decade in the club's history.

Post-war Blackpool reached the FA Cup Final on three occasions, losing to Manchester United in 1948 and Newcastle United three years later, and winning it in 1953 captained by Harry Johnston.

In 1955–56, and now captained by Kelly, Blackpool attained their highest-ever League finish: runners-up to Manchester United, despite losing their final four League games. It was a feat that could not be matched or bettered over the following two seasons, with fourth and seventh-placed finishes, and Smith left Blackpool as the club's most successful and longest-serving manager.

Smith was succeeded, in May 1958, by Ron Suart, the first former Seasiders player to return to the club as manager. In his first season, he led the club to eighth in the First Division and the sixth round of the FA Cup. A 23-year-old Ray Charnley topped the club's goalscoring chart with twenty, in his first season as a professional, and went on to repeat the feat for seven of the eight seasons that followed.

The League Cup came into existence in 1960–61. Blackpool were knocked out in the second round, the round in which they entered. The club's First Division status came under threat, but they managed to avoid relegation by one point, at the expense of Newcastle United. Local arch-rivals Preston North End were the other club to make the drop.

Mid-table finishes in 1961–62 and 1962–63 (and an appearance in the League Cup semi-finals during the former) were offset by another lowly finish of eighteenth in 1963–64, with Alan Ball top-scoring with thirteen goals. Much of the same ensued over the following two seasons, before relegation finally occurred in 1966–67. Blackpool finished bottom of the table, eight points adrift of fellow demotion victims Aston Villa. Suart had resigned four months before the end of the season. His replacement was another former Blackpool player, Stan Mortensen.

Late 20th century

Mortensen picked up the pieces for the club's first season back in the Second Division in thirty years, guiding them to a third-placed finish. They had gone into the final game of the season at Huddersfield Town knowing that a win would likely secure a return to the First Division. They won 3–1, but once the premature celebrations had ended, they discovered that their nearest rivals, Queens Park Rangers, had scored a last-minute winner at Aston Villa. Q.P.R. were promoted by virtue of a better goal-average: 1.86, to Blackpool's 1.65.

At the end of the following 1968–69 campaign, the Blackpool board made the decision to sack Mortensen after just over two years in the job. Their decision was met by fans with shock and anger, as Mortensen was as popular a manager as he was a player.

Les Shannon, who spent the majority of his playing career with Blackpool's Lancashire rivals Burnley, was installed as manager for the 1969–70 season. In his first season he succeeded where Mortensen had failed, by guiding the club back to the top flight as runners-up behind Huddersfield Town. Their promotion had been sealed after the penultimate game of the season, a 3–0 victory at rivals Preston North End, courtesy of Fred Pickering hat-trick. The result effectively relegated the hosts to the Third Division.

As quickly as Shannon had taken Blackpool up, he saw them return whence they came. The club finished at the foot of the table and were relegated back to Division Two, along with Burnley. Before the season's conclusion, Shannon was briefly replaced in a caretaker-manager capacity by Jimmy Meadows, who in turn was permanently replaced by Bob Stokoe. On 12 June 1971, well over a month after the conclusion of the League season, Blackpool won the Anglo-Italian Cup with a 2–1 victory over Bologna in the final. This was achieved without the services of Jimmy Armfield, who retired in May after seventeen years and 627 appearances for the club.

Blackpool finished amongst the top ten teams in the Second Division for six consecutive seasons, under three different managers: Stokoe, Harry Potts and Allan Brown.

Brown's second season at the helm, 1977–78, ended with the club's relegation to the Division Three for the first time in their history.

Stokoe returned for a second stint as manager for the 1978–79 campaign, at the end of which Blackpool finished mid-table. Stokoe resigned during the summer.

Stan Ternent became Blackpool's seventh manager in nine years, only to be replaced in February 1980 by Alan Ball, the popular former Blackpool midfielder who left the club for Everton fourteen years earlier. Ball himself only lasted a year in the job, and departed when the club were relegated to the League's basement division.

Allan Brown had taken over from Ball in February 1981, and he remained in charge for the following 1981–82 term. Blackpool finished twelfth in their first season in Division Four; however, unable to handle the pressure of the job, Brown resigned during the close season.

Sam Ellis took over from Brown in June 1982, three years after he finished his playing career with Watford. His first season saw Blackpool finish 21st, with Dave Bamber topping the club's goalscoring chart for the second consecutive season with ten strikes.

It was Ellis's third season, however, that brought the success the club had been looking for. Blackpool finished second behind Chesterfield and were back in Division Three.

The club managed to finish in the top half of the table for their first three seasons in the Third Division, but slipped to nineteenth in Ellis's seventh and final season in charge.

On 17 April 1986, the board of directors, after an emergency meeting, put the club on the market after councillors rejected plans to sell Bloomfield Road for a supermarket site in a £35 million redevelopment scheme.

For the 1989–90 season, Blackpool appointed Jimmy Mullen as manager. Mullen's reign last only eleven months, however, and he left the club after their relegation back to Division Four.

Graham Carr replaced Mullen, but his spell in the manager's seat was even shorter — just four months. He was sacked in November 1990 with Blackpool in eighteenth place.

Carr's replacement was his assistant, Billy Ayre. Ayre guided the team to a fifth-placed finish and qualification for the play-offs. They lost only five of their thirty League games that remained at the time of Ayre's appointment. The run included thirteen consecutive home League wins in an eventual 24–game unbeaten run at Bloomfield Road. The run was extended to fifteen games at the start of the 1991–92 campaign, which is the club record.

After beating Scunthorpe United in the two-legged semi-finals of the play-offs, Blackpool lost to Torquay United in the Wembley final, on penalties after the score was tied 2–2 after regular and extra time (see Blackpool F.C. season 1990-91#Final).

The following 1991–92 season finished with Blackpool in fourth place, missing out on automatic promotion by one point, which meant another play-offs experience. This time they met Barnet in the semi-finals and won 2–1 on aggregate. They returned to Wembley, where they faced Scunthorpe United in the final, the team they knocked out of the play-offs twelve months earlier. Again the score was tied at the end of regular and extra time, but Blackpool were victorious in the penalty shootout and booked their place in the new Division Two.

Blackpool struggled in their first two terms back in the third tier of English football, demonstrated by eighteenth- and twentieth-placed finishes, avoiding relegation in the latter season by virtue of a 4–1 victory over Leyton Orient on the final day of the season, which resulted in a pitch invasion by the Blackpool supporters. Ayre was sacked in the summer of 1994 and was replaced by Sam Allardyce.

Allardyce led Blackpool to a mid-table finish in his first season and saw the club knocked out of both cup competitions at the first hurdle. Tony Ellis was the club's top scorer with seventeen League goals.

The 1995–96 season saw Blackpool finish third and claim a place in the play-offs for the third time in six seasons. In the semi-finals, Blackpool travelled to Bradford City and won 2–0. Three days later, they hosted the Yorkshiremen at Bloomfield Road and lost 3–0. Blackpool remained in Division Two, and Allardyce was sacked not long afterwards.

Former Norwich City manager Gary Megson replaced Allardyce, and attained a seventh-placed finish in his only season in charge. Nigel Worthington succeeded Megson in the summer of 1997, and in the Irishman's two full campaigns in the hot seat, Blackpool finished twelfth and fourteenth. Worthington resigned towards the end of the 1999–2000 season, and his seat was filled by the former Liverpool and England midfielder Steve McMahon.

21st century

Bloomfield Road, Blackpool F.C.'s home since 1899, during its reconstruction phase in the early part of the 21st century. This view is looking north.

McMahon arrived too late to save the club from relegation to the Third Division after a 22nd-placed finish in the table. In his first full season in charge Blackpool were promoted to Division Two by winning the play-offs. The following season the club received its record outgoing transfer fee; £1.75million from Southampton for Brett Ormerod, eclipsing the £600,000 QPR paid for Trevor Sinclair eight years earlier. They also gained the first of two Football League Trophy wins in 2002 as Blackpool beat Cambridge United 4–1 at the Millennium Stadium. Their second win was in 2004, this time beating Southend United 2–0 again in Cardiff. In the summer following the Trophy win McMahon resigned, as he believed he could not take the club any further with the budget he was being offered. Colin Hendry became the new manager, but was replaced by Simon Grayson in November 2005.

In the 2006–07 FA Cup Blackpool reached the fourth round for the first time in seventeen years, after beating Aldershot Town 4–2 at Bloomfield Road, but were knocked out by Norwich City, 3–2 after a replay at Carrow Road. They finished in third place, and qualified for the play-offs, and as top scorers in League One with 76 goals. After beating Oldham Athletic 5–2 on aggregate in the semi-final they met Yeovil Town in the final at the new Wembley Stadium, their first appearance at England's national stadium in fifteen years. Blackpool won 2–0, a club-record tenth consecutive victory, and were promoted to The Championship in their 100th overall season in the Football League.

Blackpool knocked Premier League side Derby County out of the League Cup at the second-round stage on 28 August 2007. The match ended 1–1 after ninety minutes and 2–2 after extra time. The Seasiders won the resulting penalty shootout 7–6. On 25 September, Blackpool beat Southend United 2–1 after extra time to reach the fourth round for the first time in 35 years. They were drawn away to Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur in the last sixteen, a match they lost 2–0. Tottenham went on to win the competition.

Blackpool finished the 2007–08 season in 19th place, escaping relegation by two points and ensuring their safety in a 1–1 draw with Watford on the final day of The Championship season.

On 23 December 2008, Simon Grayson left the club to join League One club Leeds United after just over three years in charge at Bloomfield Road. Under the guidance of Grayson's assistant, Tony Parkes, in a caretaker manager capacity, Blackpool finished the 2008–09 campaign in 16th place. Parkes left the club on 18 May 2009 after a meeting with chairman Karl Oyston about finances.

Recent events

On 21 May 2009, Ian Holloway was appointed as manager, signing a one-year contract with the club. On 31 July it was announced that club president Valeri Belokon was setting up a new transfer fund, into which he was adding a "considerable amount" on 5 August in order to invest in new players identified by Holloway. Four days later Blackpool broke their transfer record by signing Charlie Adam from Scottish champions Rangers for £500,000, eclipsing the £275,000 paid to Millwall for Chris Malkin in 1996.

Blackpool finished the 2009–10 regular season in sixth place in The Championship, their highest finish in the Football League since 1970–71, and claimed a spot in the play-offs. On 2 May 2010, the 57th anniversary of Blackpool's FA Cup Final victory, Blackpool hosted Bristol City for the final League game of the season. They needed to match or better Swansea City's result in their match at home to Doncaster Rovers. Both matches ended in draws, with Swansea's Lee Trundle having a late goal disallowed for handball, which meant Blackpool secured the remaining play-off place.

On 8 May, Blackpool beat Nottingham Forest 2–1 at Bloomfield Road in the semi-final first leg. Three days later, they beat them 4-3 (6-4 on aggregate) at the City Ground in the second leg to progress to the final (their third in ten seasons) against Cardiff. The result meant Blackpool had beaten Forest in all four of the clubs' meetings in 2009–10.

Blackpool defeated Cardiff City 3–2 on 22 May in the Championship play-off Final at Wembley Stadium to earn promotion to the Premier League. It will be Blackpool's debut appearance in the Premier League since the 1992 founding of the competition and their first appearance in English football's top flight in 39 years. Blackpool have now, uniquely, been promoted through all three tiers of the Football League via the play-off system. Furthermore, they have won the last nine play-off games they have been involved in during the ten seasons between 2001 and 2010.

The play-off Final was dubbed "the richest game in football", because the victorious club would receive a £90 million windfall. It was more than double the £36 million that the winners of the Champions League received.

On 24 May, a civic reception was held along Blackpool's promenade for the club's personnel (including, notably, Owen Oyston), who travelled in a parade from Gynn Square down the Golden Mile to the South Pier on an open-top double decker bus. At the South Pier, the ensemble took to a stage to address the gathered 60,000 crowd.

In their first Premier League match, Blackpool defeated Wigan Athletic 4–0 at the DW Stadium. The result saw the Seasiders sit atop the table until Chelsea's 6–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion later in the day. It was the first time they had been in such a position since they won their opening game of the 1957–58 top-flight campaign. The initial fixture list had the game being played at Bloomfield Road, but the Premier League permitted the switching of the game to Wigan because construction work at Bloomfield Road had not been completed in time.

Stadium

Main article: Bloomfield Road

Blackpool have played their home games at Bloomfield Road since 1901. The current capacity of the stadium is 12,555 following the opening of the Jimmy Armfield South Stand on 10 March 2010.

Work is currently being done on the stadium to prepare for the club's debut season in the Premier League. The temporary East Stand was removed and is being replaced by a modular stand with a capacity of 5,070. Other work is being done on improving the floodlighting, media and medical facilities and the dugouts. The South Stand is having further hospitality areas fitted out and work is also being done on the South West Corner, as well as painting work on the West Stand and Kop. The club also stated plans to replace the seats in the West and Kop.

The first game of the 2010-11 season was due to be at home to Wigan Athletic on 14 August 2010. However, the Premier League agreed to the fixture being switched to the DW Stadium in case the work on the stadium is not completed in time for the game.

Players

Current squad

As of 13 August 2010.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Paul Rachubka
2	DF	ENG	Danny Coid
3	DF	SCO	Stephen Crainey
4	MF	ENG	Keith Southern
5	DF	WAL	Neal Eardley
6	DF	ENG	Ian Evatt
7	FW	EIR	Billy Clarke
8	MF	FRA	Malaury Martin
9	FW	ENG	Marlon Harewood
10	FW	ENG	Brett Ormerod
11	MF	WAL	David Vaughan
12	MF	ENG	Gary Taylor-Fletcher
13	GK	ENG	Mark Halstead

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	MF	FRA	Elliot Grandin
15	DF	ENG	Alex Baptiste
16	MF	ENG	Sam Mantom (on loan from West Bromwich Albion)
17	MF	ENG	Chris Basham
18	MF	JAM	Jason Euell (club captain)
19	MF	FRA	Ludovic Sylvestre
20	DF	NIR	Craig Cathcart
21	GK	ENG	Matthew Gilks
22	DF	ENG	Ashley Eastham
24	DF	WAL	Rob Edwards
25	FW	ENG	Louis Almond
26	MF	SCO	Charlie Adam (vice-captain)
27	MF	ENG	Ishmel Demontagnac
30	MF	SCO	Stephen Husband

Reserve team

Up until the 2009–10 season the reserve team competed in the Central League Division One West. They have been Central League champions twice, in 1919–20 and 1949–50.

With the first team promoted to the Premier League, for the 2010–11 season the reserves will compete in the Premier Reserve League. They will be in Northern Group B, with Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Liverpool and Sunderland.

Youth team and Centre of Excellence

The youth team competes in the Football League Youth Alliance, North West Conference. They are also eligible to enter the FA Youth Cup and the Lancashire FA Youth Cup, which they won in the 2007–08 season. In the final, on 28 April 2008, they beat Wigan Athletic 2–0 at Bloomfield Road. They also won the Lancashire FA Youth Cup in the 1985–86 season. Youth-team players can also play in the club's reserve team.

Players to have come through the Blackpool youth team include Danny Coid, who is currently the longest-serving player at the club. Other players to have made it into the Blackpool first team in recent years have included Danny Mitchley, who made his first-team debut in the 2008–09 season, as well as Ashley Eastham and Louis Almond, both of whom made their first-team debuts in the 2009–10 season. Almond made his debut whilst still being a member of the youth team. Former Premier League players Trevor Sinclair, Paul Stewart and Alan Wright were also products of the Blackpool youth department. Others include Matthew Blinkhorn, John Hills, Clarke Carlisle and Rickie Lambert.

The head of the youth department is former Blackpool player Gary Parkinson and the assistant head is Garreth Barker. Former Blackpool player Phil Clarkson is the Under-15s coach and Andy Fairman is the youth and centre of excellence goalkeeping coach.

The club also has a Centre of Excellence, with boys teams in age ranges from under-9s to under-16s. The Centre of Excellence runs Development Centres in Preston and Lytham St Annes. They also have two partner clubs: Isle of Man Football League side Union Mills and Thornton Cleveleys of the West Lancashire Football League.

See also:

• List of Blackpool F.C. players
• List of notable Blackpool F.C. players
• Blackpool F.C. players with a Wikipedia article

One-club men

See also: List of one-club men

Nine players spent their entire professional playing career with Blackpool:

Name	Years	Apps	Goals
Bob Birkett	1896–1906 (10)	215	44
Edward Threlfall	1900–1911 (11)	320	11
John Charles	1912–1924 (12)	228	30
Bert Tulloch	1914–1924 (10)	178	00
Harry Johnston	1934–1955 (21)	398	11
Hugh Kelly	1943–1960 (17)	428	08
Jimmy Armfield	1954–1971 (17)	569	06
Glyn James	1960–1975 (15)	399	22
Mike Davies	1984–1995 (11)	310	16

Internationals

Blackpool have had 38 full-international representatives. Their first was Fred Griffiths (for Wales) in 1900. Their most recent were Neal Eardley and David Vaughan (Wales), Charlie Adam (Scotland), and Hameur Bouazza (Algeria) in 2009 and 2010.

Many players won additional caps with other clubs, but the totals given below apply solely to appearances made while with Blackpool.

England

Name	Years	Caps	Goals
Harry Bedford	1923–1924	002	001
Jimmy Hampson	1930–1932	003	005
Harry Johnston	1946–1953	010	000
Stan Mortensen	1946–1954	025	023
Stanley Matthews	1946–1957	036	003
Eddie Shimwell	1949	001	000
Tommy Garrett	1951–1954	003	000
Ernie Taylor	1953–1954	001	000
Bill Perry	1955–1956	003	002
Jimmy Armfield	1958–1966	043	000
Ray Charnley	1962–1963	001	000
Tony Waiters	1963–1965	005	000
Alan Ball	1964–1966	014	001

Scotland

Name	Years	Caps	Goals
Phil Watson	1933	001	000
Alex Munro	1938	001	000
Frank O'Donnell	1938	002	000
Jimmy Blair	1946	001	000
Allan Brown	1951–1954	011	003
George Farm	1952–1959	010	000
Hugh Kelly	1952	001	000
Jackie Mudie	1956–1958	017	009
Tony Green	1971	004	000
Charlie Adam	2009–2010	002	000

Wales

Name	Years	Caps	Goals
Fred Griffiths	1899–1900	002	000
Dai Astley	1938–1939	001	001
Glyn James	1965–1971	009	000
Wyn Davies	1973	001	000
David Vaughan	2008–2010	004	001
Neal Eardley	2009	003	000

Northern Ireland
Prior to 1924, there was only one Irish national team. In that year, the Republic of Ireland began playing separate matches, and that position is reflected here.

Name	Years	Caps	Goals
Sammy Jones	1933–1934	001	001
Peter Doherty	1934–1936	004	000
Malcolm Butler	1938–1939	001	000
Derek Spence	1976–1980	015	003
James Quinn	1996–1998	010	001

Republic of Ireland

Name	Years	Caps	Goals
Mickey Walsh	1975–1977	004	001
Wes Hoolahan	2008	001	000

Latvia

Name	Years	Caps	Goals
Kaspars Gorkšs	2006–2008	014	001

Algeria

Name	Years	Caps	Goals
Hameur Bouazza	2009–2010	06	001

Hall of Fame

The Blackpool F.C. Hall of Fame was established on 22 August 2006, with a plaque unveiled by Jimmy Armfield. Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players per decade are inducted.

Pre-1950s:

• Jack Parkinson
• Harry Bedford
• Jimmy Hampson
• Jock Dodds
• Georgie Mee

1950s:

• Stan Mortensen
• Stanley Matthews
• Bill Perry
• Harry Johnston
• Allan Brown

1960s:

• Jimmy Armfield
• Alan Ball
• Tony Green
• Ray Charnley
• Glyn James

1970s:

• Alan Suddick
• Mickey Walsh
• Tommy Hutchison
• John Burridge
• Mickey Burns

1980s:

• Paul Stewart
• Alan Wright
• Eamon O'Keefe
• Andy Garner
• Mike Davies

1990s:

• Trevor Sinclair
• Dave Bamber
• Tony Ellis
• Andy Morrison
• Phil Clarkson

PFA Team of the Year

Five players have been included in the PFA Team of the Year whilst playing for Blackpool.

• 2003 Martin Bullock (Second Division)
• 2005 Richie Wellens, Scott Taylor (Second Division)
• 2007 Wes Hoolahan (League One)
• 2010 Charlie Adam (The Championship)

Football League 100 Legends

The Football League 100 Legends is a list of "100 legendary football players" produced by The Football League in 1998 to celebrate the 100th season of League football. Five former Blackpool players were included in the list.

• Jimmy Armfield
• Alan Ball
• Peter Doherty
• Stanley Matthews
• Stan Mortensen

Non-playing staff

As of 27 January 2010.

Name	Role
Valeri Belokon	President
Karl Oyston	Chairman
Normunds Malnacs	Director
Owen Oyston	Director
Gavin Steele	Director
Matt Williams	Club secretary
Ian Holloway	Manager
Steve Thompson	Assistant manager
Peter Fox	Goalkeeping coach
Steve McPhee	Coach
Gary Parkinson	Youth team coach
Garreth Barker	Youth team coach
Phil Horner	Physiotherapist
Billy Dearden	Chief Scout

Managers

There have been 32 different managers of Blackpool, all of whom have been of United Kingdom nationality. The longest-serving manager was Joe Smith, who occupied the role for 23 years. The club has, on average, appointed a new manager every 3.03 years.

The statistics in the table below account for Football League games only. Play-off games are excluded.

As of 2 May 2010

A pie chart displaying (in chronological order, clockwise from noon) Blackpool's managers and their years of service to the club. Note: caretaker managers have been omitted; multiple terms have been combined

A bar chart displaying (in descending order) Blackpool's managers by their total number of Football League games in charge (as of the end of the 2009–10 season). Note: caretaker and part-time managers have been omitted; multiple terms have been combined

A bar chart displaying (in descending order) the win percentages of Blackpool's managers in Football League games (as of the end of the 2009–10 season). Note: caretaker and part-time managers have been omitted; multiple terms are displayed as an average

Name	From	To	Games	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win%	Honours won
No manager	1896	1903	196	63	38	95	32.14
Tom Barcroft1 (secretary-manager)	1903	1909	220	61	55	104	27.73
Jack Cox1 (player-manager)	1909	1911	76	30	18	28	39.47
No manager	1911	1915	152	48	35	69	31.58
Bill Norman2	c. 1 August 1918	c. 31 May 1923	168	74	36	58	44.05
No manager	c. 31 May 1923	5 October 1923	8	1	5	2	12.50
Major Frank Buckley	6 October 1923	c. 31 May 1927	160	66	36	58	41.25
Sydney Beaumont	c. 1 August 1927	c. 31 May 1928	42	13	8	21	30.95
Harry Evans (honorary manager)	c. 1 August 1928	c. 31 May 1933	210	83	35	92	39.52	Division Two championship (1929–30)
Sandy MacFarlane	1 July 1933	31 July 1935	84	36	24	24	42.86
Joe Smith	c. 1 August 1935	30 April 1958	714	306	164	244	42.86	Promotion to Division One (1936–37), FA Cup (1953)
Ron Suart1	1 May 1958	1 February 1967	363	116	91	156	31.96
Stan Mortensen1	1 February 1967	30 April 1969	99	40	27	32	40.40
Les Shannon	1 May 1969	26 October 1970	56	22	17	17	39.29	Promotion to Division One (1969–70)
Jimmy Meadows (caretaker manager)	26 October 1970	20 December 1970	8	1	1	6	12.50
Bob Stokoe	20 December 1970	23 November 1972	80	28	24	28	35.00	1971 Anglo-Italian Cup
No manager	23 November 1972	1 January 1973	7	4	0	3	57.14
Harry Potts	1 January 1973	5 May 1976	143	52	47	44	36.36
Allan Brown1	5 May 1976	6 February 1978	69	28	23	18	40.58
Bobby Smith (caretaker manager)	6 February 1978	7 March 1978	2	0	1	1	00.00
Jimmy Meadows (caretaker manager) (second time)	7 March 1978	20 May 1978	13	1	6	6	07.69
Bob Stokoe (second time)	20 May 1978	17 August 1979	46	18	9	19	39.13
Stan Ternent	19 September 1979	1 February 1980	29	9	7	13	31.03
Freddie Scott (caretaker manager)	February 1980	February 1980	?	?	?	?	??.??
Alan Ball1	February 1980	28 February 1981	51	13	14	24	25.49
Allan Brown1 (second time)	1 March 1981	31 May 1982	58	17	17	24	29.31
Sam Ellis	1 June 1982	28 March 1989	311	117	89	105	37.62	Promotion to Division Three (1984–85)
Jimmy Mullen (caretaker manager)	28 March 1989	20 May 1989	11	5	1	5	45.45
Jimmy Mullen	20 May 1989	30 April 1990	45	10	16	19	22.22
Tom White1 (caretaker manager)	30 April 1990	11 June 1990	1	0	0	1	00.00
Graham Carr	11 June 1990	30 November 1990	16	5	3	8	31.25
Billy Ayre	30 November 1990	10 June 1994	164	68	37	59	41.46	Promotion to (new) Division Two (1991–92)
Sam Allardyce	19 July 1994	29 May 1996	92	41	23	28	44.57
Gary Megson	5 July 1996	1 July 1997	46	18	15	13	39.13
Nigel Worthington1	8 July 1997	23 December 1999	113	34	32	47	30.09
Mick Hennigan & Mike Davies1 (temporary managers)	23 December 1999	7 January 2000	3	0	1	2	00.00
Steve McMahon	7 January 2000	6 June 2004	206	72	53	81	34.95	Promotion to Division Two (2000–01), League Trophy (2002 and 2004)
Colin Hendry1	7 June 2004	10 November 2005	62	18	19	25	29.03
Simon Grayson1 (caretaker manager)	10 November 2005	5 June 2006	30	9	10	11	30.00
Simon Grayson1	5 August 2006	23 December 2008	116	43	37	36	37.06	Promotion to The Championship (2006–07)
Tony Parkes (caretaker manager)	24 December 2008	18 May 2009	22	6	9	7	27.27
Ian Holloway	21 May 2009	Present	46	19	13	14	41.3	Promotion to Premier League (2009–10)
Totals			4,338	1,595	1,096	1,647	36.77

^1 – Also played for Blackpool
^2 – Norman was the club's first full-time manager

League history

1889–1896: Lancashire League 1896–1899: Division 2 (Tier 2) 1899–1900: Not re-elected to League, returned to Lancashire League 1900–1915: Division 2 (2) 1915–1919: League football halted due to World War I 1919–1930: Division 2 (2) 1930–1933: Division 1 (1) 1933–1937: Division 2 (2) 1937–1939: Division 1 (1) 1939–1946: League football halted due to World War II 1946–1967: Division 1 (1) 1967–1970: Division 2 (2)

1970–1971: Division 1 (1) 1971–1978: Division 2 (2) 1978–1981: Division 3 (3) 1981–1985: Division 4 (4) 1985–1990: Division 3 (3) 1990–1992: Division 4 (4) 1992–2000: Division 2 (3) 2000–2001: Division 3 (4) 2001–2007: Division 2/League One (3) 2007–2010: Championship (2) 2010-present: Premier League (1)

• Seasons spent in first tier: 28
• Seasons spent in second tier: 46
• Seasons spent in third tier: 22
• Seasons spent in fourth tier: 7

Honours

Blackpool have eight Football League and fifteen cup honours to their name. They are:

Honour	Number	Years
League
Champions	1	1929—30 (Division 2)
Automatic promotions	3	1936—37 (Division 2 to Division 1); 1967—70 (Division 2 to Division 1); 1984—85 (Division 4 to Division 3)
Promotions via play-offs	4	1991—92 (Division 4 to new Division 2); 2000—01 (Division 3 to Division 2); 2006—07 (League One to The Championship); 2009—2010 (The Championship to the Premier League)
Cups
FA Cup winners	1	1953
Anglo-Italian Cup winners	1	1971
Football League Trophy winners	2	2002, 2004
South West Challenge Cup winners	1	2010*
League War Cup winners	1	1943
Lancashire Senior Cup winners	7	1936, 1937, 1942, 1954, 1994, 1995, 1996
Lancashire Junior Cup winners	2	1888, 1891

* denotes most recent honour

Records

Further information: List of Blackpool F.C. records and statistics

Kits

Shirts

Blackpool first began wearing tangerine for the 1923–24 season, after a recommendation from referee Albert Hargreaves, who officiated a Holland–Belgium international match and was impressed by the Dutchmen's colours.

Before changing to tangerine permanently, the team tried several different colours: blue-and-white striped shirts in the 1890s (becoming known as the Merry Stripes); a mixture of red or white shirts at the turn of the twentieth century; and, during World War I, black, yellow and red. The latter was adopted to include the colours of the flag of Belgium, a show of support for the large number of Belgian refugees that had arrived in the town. After the war, they wore white shirts and navy-blue shorts. The board introduced another change in 1934 when the team appeared in alternating dark- and light-blue stripes (which have been reintroduced several times in the mid-1990s and 2002, as well as Blackpool's return to the top flight in 2010 as the club's away shirt), but they bowed to public pressure in 1939 and settled on tangerine.

In August 1997, psychic Uri Geller said that Blackpool's new all-blue away strip would prove to be unsuccessful due to the lack of "psychic energy" that the players would get. The kit was subsequently worn for the first time at Bristol City, where the Seasiders suffered their first defeat of the season.

Sponsors

Lytham St Annes-based energy-conservation company Inenco sponsored Blackpool for three seasons in the early 1990s.

Blackpool's away shirt for the 2009–10 campaign.

Below is a list of Blackpool's shirt sponsors:

Years	Sponsor(s)
1979–1981	Easywear
1981–1982	None
1982–1983	Pembroke Hotel
1983–1984	None
1984–1985	JK Brown
1985–1986	None
1986–1988	Harry Feeney Autos
1988–1990	Bass
1990–1991	Vaux
No sponsor between August and October 1991
October 1991–1994	Inenco
1994–1997	Rebecca's Jewellers of Southport
1997–2001	Telewest
2001–2003	Electricity Direct
2003–2004	Life Repair Group
2004–2005	Pricebusters
2005–2007	Pointbetgames.com (home and away); Kimmel Lager (third)
2007–2008	Floors-2-Go
2008–2010	Carbrini
2010–present	Wonga.com

Back-of-shirt sponsors:

Years	Sponsor(s)
2005–present	Glyn Jones Estate Agents (home); JMB Properties, Ltd. (away)

Shorts sponsors:

Years	Sponsor(s)
2005–2007	Derek Woodman BMW (home); Derek Woodman Mini (away)
2007–2008	Blackpool Leisure

Source

Manufacturers

Below is a list of Blackpool's kit manufacturers:

Years	Sponsor(s)
1974–1983	Umbro
1983–1984	Hobott
1984–1985	Umbro
1986	Scoreline
1987	Lowfields
1988–1989	Scoreline
1991–1993	Gola
1993–1997	Pelada
1997–1999	Lotto
1999–2001	Super League
2001–2003	TFG Sports
2003–2005	Sporta
2005–2007	Uhlsport
2007–2009	Carlotti
2009–present	Carbrini

Source

Supporters

Blackpool supporters are known by the general terms Tangerine Army or Seaside Barmy Army. Whilst Blackpool have the lowest average home attendance in the Premier League, the atmosphere generated by the home support is regarded as loud and intimidating.

After Steve McMahon resigned as Blackpool manager in 2004, he said of the Tangerine support: "During my time here, the supporters have been fantastic and are a credit to the club. Whilst they have that support, I am sure they can go a long way. I think both on and off the pitch the club is going forward in a big way and unfortunately I'm not part of that anymore.". The club was promoted three years later to the Championship, and again in 2010 to the Premier League for the 2010–11 season.

Scunthorpe United manager Nigel Adkins, speaking in November 2007, said of Bloomfield Road: "It's an intimidating place to go." In February 2008, Mick McCarthy, manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers praised the Blackpool support, saying: "It's an amazing crowd they have. There are only two sides but you wouldn't believe it, it was fabulous. The drum roll and everyone chanting drove them on."

In September 2009, freelance journalist Mike Whalley said after attending a game against Peterborough United: "The home fans certainly make plenty of noise. Bloomfield Road does not lack for atmosphere. Or a drummer. Every home game is played to a thumping drum beat." After Blackpool beat Newcastle United 2–1 on 16 September 2009, Scott Wilson of The Northern Echo wrote: "Almost 10,000 spectators created a hostile and intimidating atmosphere that was a throwback to footballing days gone by" while the Sky Sports match report described the Blackpool support as "boisterous".

In May 2010, at the civic reception held in the club's honour after they gained promotion to the Premier League, manager Ian Holloway enquired of the gathered 60,000 crowd: "Where have you been all season?" This was in reference to the average League-game attendance of only 8,611 at Bloomfield Road during the 2009–10 campaign, though this was largely down to the fact that the capacity of the ground was just over 9,000 until the opening of the Armfield Stand in March 2010.

Upon Blackpool's rise to the Premier League, chairman Karl Oyston vowed to increase the stadium capacity to over 16,000 with a temporary stand, which will later be made permanent. This stand is expected to be ready for the opening game against Wigan Athletic, who are expected to have a large following. Progress of this stand can be viewed here.

In July 1999, Seasiders fans' group BISA (Blackpool Independent Supporters Association) voted overwhelmingly to scrap its independence and accept the offer to become the club's official supporters' group.

The Atomic Boys

Blackpool were one of the first football clubs to have a Supporters Group. The Atomic Boys followed the Seasiders from the late 1940s to the 1960s. They would dress up in exotic tangerine clothing, even borrowing outfits from Louis Tussaud's Waxworks. They adopted a live duck as a mascot, with one being donated to the group by American actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. At home games The Atomic Boys would walk around the town before big games drumming up support and rousing the crowd on match days. The tradition of dressing up for important matches has been continued to the present day. Syd Bevers, founder of the group, made his final appearance with the duck prior to the visit of First Division Newcastle United in the first leg of the League Cup second round. Bevers also managed to smuggle the duck through Wembley security for the 1953 FA Cup Final. During the same trip to London, Bevers got into 10 Downing Street — wearing a flowing tangerine cloak and a silver headdress — to hand-deliver a seven-pound stick of Blackpool rock to Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister, without getting arrested. Bevers died in February 2007, aged 91.

Songs and chants

When Blackpool score at Bloomfield Road, "Glad All Over" by the Dave Clark Five has been played since the turn of the millennium. A home win is greeted by "Rockin' All Over the World" by Status Quo. Before kick-off, songs such as "Right Here, Right Now" by Fatboy Slim can be heard, as well as "We Follow Blackpool" by the Blackpool-based group The Nolans.

Supporters' chants include "Holloway's Tangerine Army", in reference to their current manager Ian Holloway. The "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag" tune is often adopted. Each Blackpool player adopts a different tune sung by supporters on different occasions, and many are heard when the line-up is announced or if the given player is down injured gaining treatment, which also leads to "Ooh Phil Horner" as the Blackpool physio and former player enters the field.

Blackpool F.C. Ladies

Blackpool F.C. Ladies were founded in 2008, and competed their inaugural season in the Lancashire FA Women's County League Division Two, which sits at the seventh level of the national league system in women's football in England. In their first season they won all eighteen league games, scoring 133 goals, and won promotion as champions to Lancashire FA Division One for the 2009–10 season.

That season they again won promotion as champions, and in the 2010–11 season will compete in the North West Regional Women's Football League Division 1 (North).

In 2010, they established an under-18 side. There are also four other age group sides: under-11s, under-12s, under-13s and under-15s, all of which compete in the West Lancashire Girls Football League.

They are based at Bourne Poacher Playing Fields, Fleetwood Road North, Thornton Cleveleys.

The ladies team will use

Media

Matchday programmes

The earliest-known Blackpool matchday programme is dated 26 March 1910, when Stockport County visited Bloomfield Road. The publications have been given several titles over the years. Below is a list of their titles, if any, and their prices.

Era	Name	Price
1950s	Blackpool Football Club	two pence
Early 1970s	Blackpool Football Club	one shilling
Circa 1972	The Seasiders	7 pence (75th anniversary season of their debut in the Football League)
Mid-1970s	Tangerine News	8 pence
Circa 1976	The Seasider	15 pence
1980s	Seasiders Scene	20 pence
1990s	The Seasiders	80 pence
1990s	'Pool Review	£1.10
2000–2002	Offside	£2.00
2002–2003	Bloomfield Bulletin	£2.00
2003–2005	Blackpool	£2.50
2005–2007	BFC	£3.00
2007–2008	BFC	£3.50
2008–2009	Up the Pool	£3.50
2009–2010	Up the Pool	£3.00

Books

File:Blackpool Calley.jpg

Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992 (1992), by Roy Calley. The front cover depicts (clockwise from top left): Steve McIlhargey saving a penalty from Scunthorpe United's Graham Alexander in the 1991–92 Division Four play-off final at Wembley Stadium, which helped Blackpool to promotion; Sir Stanley Matthews, "arguably the greatest-ever footballer"; Jimmy Hampson, the Seasiders' "pre-war goalscoring machine"; and Jimmy Armfield, "a great Blackpool skipper".

A number of books have been written about Blackpool F.C. and club players. One of these is Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992 (ISBN 187362607X), which was written by journalist and Blackpool fan Roy Calley. Published in hardback-only by Breedon Books Sport on 20 October 1992, the book plots the history of the club over 105 years, from its foundation in 1887 through to the end of the 1991–92 season. The first statistical history of Blackpool F.C., it documents the club's results, line-ups and scorers in each competitive game between 1896 (the club's debut year in the Football League) and 1992. Also included is a biography of each of the club's nineteen managers up until that point.

A copy of the book is available at Harvard University Library, Trinity College, Dublin, and the University of Oxford, amongst other libraries.

The book's foreword is provided by Owen Oyston, who was the club's chairman when the book was published. His son, Karl, now occupies the role.

Around 1,500 statistical errors have come to light since the book's publication. Gerry Wolstenholme, the official historian of Blackpool F.C., has compiled some of them here.

Other books on Blackpool F.C. include:

• Daniels, Robin (17 October 1972). Blackpool Football: The Official Club History (1st ed.). Robert Hale Ltd. ISBN 0709135017.
• Wolstenholme, Gerry (7 December 1998). Cup Kings - Blackpool 1953. Blackpool: The Bluecoat Press. ISBN 1872568580.
• Prestage, Michael (September 2000). Blackpool: The Glory Years Remembered (1st ed.). Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd. ISBN 1859831982.
• Singleton, Steve, ed. (19 December 2007). Legends: The Great Players of Blackpool F.C (1st ed.). Blackpool: At Heart Ltd. ISBN 1845471822.
• Gillatt, Peter (30 November 2009). Blackpool FC on This Day: History, Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year. Pitch Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1905411502.

DVDs

File:The Seasiders DVD.jpg

Cover of The Seasiders, which was released in 2005. It features illustrations of several of the club's crests during its history.

Several DVDs on the history of Blackpool F.C. have been released. One of these is the two-disc The Seasiders, which documents historical matches of the club. The most notable inclusions are highlights from the 1953 FA Cup Final, their Anglo-Italian Cup Final victory in 1971, and their two successive visits to Wembley, in 1991 and 1992. The compilation, released in 2005, was put together privately by a group of Blackpool F.C. supporters.

Each disc begins with archival footage of Bloomfield Road in the first few years of the 21st century, before its redevelopment.

The collection concludes with a tribute to Billy Ayre, Blackpool's manager between 1990 and 1994, featuring a quote from former Seasiders defender and Ayre's fellow Geordie, Phil Brown, who played alongside Ayre at Hartlepool United and Halifax Town and under him at Halifax: "He was the salt of the earth, a man you could trust with your life. There weren't many people like him."

External links

• Official site
• Blackpool F.C. Youth Department website
• Blackpool F.C. Girls and Ladies website
• BBC Sport:

Fixtures

Results

Table

Statistics